Spending some time with nature...

Those that know me should know that I'm not really an "outdoorsy" person.  My idea of roughing it is staying at a Holiday Inn.  But, as week four of my photography class approached, I realized I would have to sport myself in gym shoes and bug spray and venture out to Maybury State Park to be one with the trees and trails.

It was a gorgeous evening!  The sun was setting beautifully over the pond.  It was quiet and serene.  The bugs were at a minimum.  And I even befriended a girl in my class who is a fellow teacher so we were able to critique our teacher's teaching styles, complain about the crappy political situation, and make fun of each others' pictures. 

After looking at the pictures at home on the computer, I have to say that I was quite impressed with a few of them.  And I was thrilled to try some new techniques like panning.  While we couldn't capture any bikers on the trails with the panning, our teacher was nice enough to be our subject.

Here's my latest and greatest:

Some of my classmates "in the field".

I mastered depth of field!!

Yay for depth of field!

Borrowing my friend's zoom lens

Our teacher giving us a lesson

My friend, thrilled that I snapped this gem of her

Panning!

Yes, I meant to do this

And that too

Next week's lesson is on flash - oh boy!  But, I'm getting excited at all that I'm learning in a few short weeks.  Makes me feel motivated to take another class...next summer maybe?